


terrible sting, terrible storm

by singlemalter



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Multi, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singlemalter/pseuds/singlemalter
Summary: A wedding day.
Relationships: Isa Hernáez/Carlos Sainz Jr, Lando Norris/Carlos Sainz Jr
Comments: 7
Kudos: 76





	terrible sting, terrible storm

All the groomsmen are in the same outfit, light grey suits with black ties—except Lando’s boutonnière is larger, tallow berries and a green succulent, similar to Carlos’ own. It’s a stark reminder of the job he’s been entrusted with: make it work, don’t stutter for once in your goddamn life, be the best man he deserves.

He tries not to think about Isa’s ring on his pinky, how easily he pictures switching it to another finger and taking her place on the altar. 

* * *

No one is missing. Lando thanks every deity that might exist, checks if the other Carlos has lost his tie clip again, cries in relief that he hasn’t, and high-fives the extremely helpful ten-year-old who warns him about the ketchup smeared on his chin.

Two hours to go, and everything is perfect.

Then Carlos’ mum taps his shoulder, her face paler than ever, and begs Lando for help. 

* * *

There are no words to describe the disarray in Carlos’ room. Lando has to step over multiple piles of clothes, an empty can of deodorant, and two glasses of water to get to him.

“Hey. Carlos, calm down. You need to calm down. It’s all right. It’s all right.”

“Oh my God,” Carlos croaks.

Lando’s never seen him so utterly vulnerable. “What’s going on?” 

“The roses. They are all in wrong colours. Her mother told me she is panicking, Lando, I don’t know what to do.” 

“It’s all right,” Lando repeats. He takes the phone from Carlos’ shaky hands, unlocks it, and opens WhatsApp.

He has a bouquet to fix.

* * *

“Ah, Lando, I think I am going to marry you,” Carlos groans, his muscles relaxing under the steady pressure of Lando’s fingers. 

“Wrong person,” Lando says, and his voice cracks. _Please, I’ve got a suit and so much to give._ “Now get up and go marry the love of your life.”

They both get up at the same time. Lando’s close enough to see the layers of makeup on Carlos’ face, and his heart aches.

“You look beautiful,” Carlos says, fixing Lando’s wrinkled cravat. “So dapper. You’re even more handsome than me.”

“Oh, I know that already,” Lando jokes. He doesn’t know, but it’s nice to hear it from Carlos.

Like this, he can almost _pretend_. He envisions a world in which he can wait for Carlos to walk down the aisle, meeting him at the end like always, their rings held securely in Flo’s hands, and lets himself dream.

* * *

“Does anyone have any objections at all to this union?”

The officiant looks over the large crowd. Why would they? Carlos and Isa are made for each other, the kind of couple who could feature in furniture ads.

Everyone stays silent.

So does Lando.

* * *

His speech is fine. The crowd laughs at his anecdotes, silly stories about drunk bowling and mediocre homemade paella. He cracks a few jokes about Carlos’ Spanish charm, much to his family’s delight, and finishes it off with a toast to the newlyweds. 

There are many things Lando doesn’t, can’t say, but that’s par for the course when it comes to Carlos. 

* * *

Once everyone’s distracted on the dance floor, Isa takes him to a secluded corner near the bar, her hair down, radiant as always.

She’s just gotten married to the love of their lives. It’s only fair.

She puts a hand on Lando’s shoulder and smiles, warm and bright. “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute,” she says. “Thank you so much for everything you did, with the bouquet, helping Carlos while we planned. You’re amazing.”

Lando’s at a loss for words. “I… I mean, I only did my job. Thank you for even wanting me to be best man, you know, I didn’t expect it, really, I thought it would be Carlos. The other Carlos.”

“Don’t be silly,” Isa says. She smoothes out his suit jacket. “Carlos wanted _you_. And I wanted to talk to you about him, if that’s okay.”

A knot forms in Lando’s throat. “Yeah,” he croaks. “Yeah, that’s fine. What is it?”

Her eyes soften. He feels like he’s getting stared down by a stern teacher or his own mother, every last vulnerability laid bare for Isa to see. “I know about… everything, you know,” she whispers. “He tells me things. And I see them. And I just want you to know I am so thankful for you still accepting this, for you wanting to be here and being so good to us. Not everyone would have done the same.”

Tears gather in the corner of his eyes. He nods, fighting the urge to cry. “Yeah,” he says again. “Yeah, it’s okay. Thank you. I want to be good for him. And for you. I don’t… I don’t want to ruin things for the two of you guys just because I’m… stupid or whatever.”

Isa shakes her head. “You could never ruin things. Never.”

“I try,” he says. “Thank you.”

She leaves. He sits down at the bar and asks the lady behind the counter for a Carlos-themed custom cocktail.

It’s been a long day.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Sufjan Stevens’ _The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us_.
> 
> nicorosberg.tumblr.com


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